Hi, new to this forum. I have ADHD since I was a little kid. I am now 53. I have tried a few diff meds and never stick with anything. Mainly because I bounce back and forth deciding if its worth it. Do the pros out weigh the cons. So y biggest issue is I take in the morning and feel amazing. Focused, organized, prepared..etc. sometime mid afternoon I feel lethargic. All of that good stuff goes away and I am in a fog. Then at night I literally cannot fall asleep for hours. Its awful. I usually take extended release. Im wondering if anyone else has this issue and if short release would be better? I have started with smallest does and only went up a little. Still the same issues. Help. I need something. Everyone around me tells me. Ugh

For Dex and Adderall after making a change to dosage or frequency it will take up to a month (of not changing anything) for my sleep pattern to line out. OTOH for other side effects and symptom treatment it is 2 weeks or less to line out. Euphoric kicks were usullay gone in 3-4 days. To find this out I just had to make a change and wait for 2 weeks or a month before I made any other changes. HTH, -LN

There could be a number of reasons for this and by the way I have experienced this issue before and the changes I made which drastically helped me included
• Eating enough calories throughout the day, this helps prevent low blood sugar which can cause fatigue, eat a decent meal prior to medication as ADHD meds decrease appetite
• Stay hydrated
• Find your correct dose
• Avoid chopping and changing with medication allow yourself time to adapt
• adequate sleep, which you mentioned was an issue, perhaps look at magnesium as a natural solution to help with your insomnia
• consider taking drug holidays (take a few days off occasionally)

Hope some of these points are helpful, it took me over a year to find the correct medication it is a lot of trial and error as you stated.

I asked because tiredness can be from a lot of things and can vary depending on if its amphetamines or methylphenidates.

I thought Methylphenidate Versus Amphetamine for tiredness was interesting to compare because it almost seemed equal in the sense that you get more stimulated with amphetamines (most people) but crash harder with them (thus meaning more tiredness). However, methylphenidates you don't "come up" as much and thus don't come "down" as 'hard,' so I don't really know as it sort of depends on how the control variable (your tiredness off drugs) would compare to you on amphetamines versus you on methylphenidates. Also, all other drugs have to be taken into account, diet, hormones, cortisol levels, etc. So, now that I have made this seriously complicated, I'm going to go play some Xbox and pray to god that alleviates my boredom.

There could be a number of reasons for this and by the way I have experienced this issue before and the changes I made which drastically helped me included
 Eating enough calories throughout the day, this helps prevent low blood sugar which can cause fatigue, eat a decent meal prior to medication as ADHD meds decrease appetite
 Stay hydrated
 Find your correct dose
 Avoid chopping and changing with medication allow yourself time to adapt
 adequate sleep, which you mentioned was an issue, perhaps look at magnesium as a natural solution to help with your insomnia
 consider taking drug holidays (take a few days off occasionally)

Hope some of these points are helpful, it took me over a year to find the correct medication it is a lot of trial and error as you stated.

Lol hey Jake I'm Jake. And everything you said is what I'd advise/recommend. You must be my brother from somewhere else on Earth

I thought Methylphenidate Versus Amphetamine for tiredness was interesting to compare because it almost seemed equal in the sense that you get more stimulated with amphetamines (most people) but crash harder with them (thus meaning more tiredness).

I think this depends on whether you wait until each dose as worn off before taking the next one or overlap. I take adderall xr 3 times a day and a booster 0f dex ir I never wait until one wears off I always over lap. My booster dose is at 4 so when that one dose wear off its getting to be close to bedtime. I do know that when I have had accidental breaks it takes me a good 2-3 days to get up off the couch from napping all day.

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However, methylphenidates you don't "come up" as much and thus don't come "down" as 'hard,' so I don't really know as it sort of depends on how the control variable (your tiredness off drugs) would compare to you on amphetamines versus you on methylphenidates. Also, all other drugs have to be taken into account, diet, hormones, cortisol levels, etc. So, now that I have made this seriously complicated, I'm going to go play some Xbox and pray to god that alleviates my boredom.

With ritalin it made me moody and it was sharp in coming but I am BPII so I think that had a lot to do with it.